LED illuminators help increase productivity at Western Australia bauxite mine

LED illuminators from Raytec have significantly increased productivity at the world’s largest bauxite mine in Western Australia, in a state of the art lighting upgrade in an incredibly remote and challenging environment.

The mine currently produces around 23 million tonnes of bauxite a year and was looking to improve overall efficiency by upgrading its site lighting and conveyor belt lighting.

The conditions that light fittings operate under on site are harsh. They include vibration, dust, heat, heavy rain, and long running times; all of which affect the performance and life span of the illumination. Operation in these conditions can often lead to premature failure, causing production downtime during maintenance/ replacement.

The challenge was to find a lighting solution that could not only withstand the tough conditions on site, but could also provide adequate illumination for safe working conditions, and provide energy and cost efficient solution with significantly reduced maintenance requirements.

After a successful trial of Raytec’s RAYLUX Urban illuminators, the mine was confident that they could satisfy all of their requirements. The tough, rugged illuminators are vibration resistant and are designed specifically for challenging environments such as mines and oil rigs. Typical illuminators would break down after 2-3 months due to the vibration, but the Raytec illuminators delivered a consistent performance over the 12 month trial, and continue to run.